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Reversed my Type 2 Diabetes.

(64 Posts)
tanith Thu 26-Oct-17 17:42:26

Had an appointment with my GP about test results for high BP and she was happy to tell me I've managed to reverse my Diabetes diagnosis and took me off my Metformin. I'm very happy that losing the weight and buying no added sugar foods and drinks seems to of done the trick. Of course I'll always be prone especially if my weight creeps up again but for now I'm a happy bunny.

icanhandthemback Thu 09-Nov-17 19:58:34

Whether you are in remission or cured, there is nothing so great at looking at your blood test results and seeing a number between 4 and 6. I have lost 2 stone so my readings have gone from early teens to 5.4 in the morning and between 6-8 2 hours after eating. It just lifts my mood every time I see it. There is nothing worse than knowing you are slowly killing yourself and it is going to be in a horrendous way when you look at high readings.

tanith Mon 06-Nov-17 08:18:56

I'm happy my post has inspired some to at least give it a try. My GP of course told me if my weight creeps up then the Diabetes may recur as someone else said it's like being in remission, I intend to keep it that way.

Anya Mon 06-Nov-17 08:09:14

Do you need to lose weight Nfk?

NfkDumpling Mon 06-Nov-17 07:45:06

Earlier this year DH was diagnosed with late onset diabetes brought on by other health problems. He’s adjusted our meals (he does the cooking) and we’ve both stopped most snacking. He’s lost nearly a stone and has been told his diabetes is now under control with his new regime. (This is great - but I’ve lost nothing! Not an ounce!)

Anya Mon 06-Nov-17 05:53:06

Hope you’re results are OK Ginny and even if they’re not then take control and 75 is not that old you know,??

Ginny42 Mon 06-Nov-17 05:48:35

I turned to this thread because I'm awake at silly o'clock worrying what my recent test results will show and whether I now have diabetes. I went to the GP because of pains in my foot so she ordered a blood test. Athough I dread the diagnosis I keep telling myself that it can be controlled and now I've read that some Gransnetters have actually defeated it, I feel more positive and your post tanith gives me the impetus to do the same.

I also keep telling myself that some people have lived with this condition or Type 1 for many years and to stop whingeing now at the age 75 and to get on with it.

Well done to all who have got it under control. I hope I can too if that is the diagnosis.

PamelaJ1 Wed 01-Nov-17 12:18:38

Anya you are so right about sugars. I’m always amazed that people drink so much fruit juice and think that’s a healthy option.
Almost liquid sugar. Have an apple not the juice!
Re:sweeteners, it has been shown that they prepare your body for energy then don’t deliver. The result is to make it more difficult to resist eating more. It IS difficult to give up sugar or sweeteners but it’s very possible and when you have succeeded in retraining your palate you will find sugary things less appealing.

BBbevan Mon 30-Oct-17 06:38:28

Margie well done and keep it up. You are doing well. So sorry to hear about your DH.
Fasting day for me today. Nothing until lunchtime. Because of the clocks going back, I was awake at 5.30, so it going to be a long haul.
Hey ho , at least it keeps the weight off

Anya Sun 29-Oct-17 21:21:46

margie so sorry to read your post. That must have been a terrible experience. Well done though, on taking control now and good luck with the low carb.

Anya Sun 29-Oct-17 21:19:56

Emm...no ‘added’ sugar still means there plenty of sugars in the drinks! Just as in squeezed juices, they are full of natural sugars. Just because a sugar is ‘natural’ doesn’t mean it’s healthy because there’s a hell of a lot of sugars in these ‘no added sugar’ drinks anyway.

So whosoever it was says they were drinking x number glasses of that a day, of course it will affect your blood glucose. Look to the obvious before blaming artificial sweeteners.

M0nica Sun 29-Oct-17 20:33:19

It gave me splitting headaches, that went as soon as I stopped using it. I only discovered later that this was a known side effect.

Morgana Sun 29-Oct-17 11:33:56

D.H. had terrible hip and leg pain before we discovered it was caused by aspartame. On his diet advice course for diabetics we were continually advised to look for food with sweeteners.

margie303 Sun 29-Oct-17 10:42:41

I've always had a problem with my weight but it went totally out of control following the sudden, unexpected death of my husband 11 years ago, He collapsed and died in front of me and I did CPR until the paramedics got there, the shock was horrendous and I sat and ate, it was the only thing that made me feel alive. In June I had blood tests that showed I was only just in the prediabetic range and it was a wake up call, I've been eating low carbs since then and have lost over 2 st. A long way to go and it;s slow because I have fibromyalgia and am impaired with my mobility so exercise is difficult, although my walking has improved since losing the weight, but onwards and downwards lol

ChrisJMac Sun 29-Oct-17 09:28:06

I've dropped 4 points in a year, taking me from pre-diabetic levels to normal. The only thing I've changed in my diet / exercise regime is to reduce my intake of 'no added sugar' drinks. I used to have a couple of large glasses a day, now replaced with water. I can only asssume that it's aspartame that's spiked my blood glucose levels all these years. I'm delighted!

Anya Sun 29-Oct-17 07:54:42

I’m afraid many GPS and Diabetic Nurses are not up to date with current research. Type 2 diabetes is usually a form of insulin resistance - which means your body is still producing insulin but certain body cells are resistant to the insulin and are unable to use it as effectively, leading to high blood sugar.

Not all type 2 diabetes can be ‘reversed’ but under certain circumstances your body can start to use insulin effectively again. This was first noticed in patients who had gone through bariatric surgery.

What your GP and DN mean perhaps Ican is that there is always the very real danger that those who have pulled back from this condition are very likely to slip back into insulin resistance mode if they are not very, very careful.

It’s a case if ‘if you do what you always do, you’ll get what you always get’. However I’m sure those on here who have managed to cut out their medication won’t fall into that trap.

BBbevan Sun 29-Oct-17 07:07:11

It will happen Cindersdad well done on your weight loss so far. ?

Cindersdad Sun 29-Oct-17 07:03:29

You are shining examples - just goes to show what will power, self discipline and common sense can do. I don't like sweeteners but have found you soon get used to not having sugar in tea, coffee or on cereals and very soon you can't stand them with sugar.

Well done, I'm not diabetic yet and only about 7 pounds more than I want to be. Losing those last few pounds is harder than the 8 pounds I've already lost.

BBbevan Sun 29-Oct-17 06:47:30

Both my GP and Diabetic nurse have told me I am no longer considered diabetic.
I suppose it depends how you view things. On Diabetes.co.uk, ,there are always people complaining that their medical people are stuck in the past, and insisting on a diet with lots of carbs etc. Some embrace new thinking , others stick with what was taught years ago.

icanhandthemback Sun 29-Oct-17 00:28:19

That is brilliant Tanith but I am interested in how you can "reverse" diabetes. I have lost weight and cut my medication significantly but when I talked to my Diabetic Nurse about "reversing" my diabetes, she was absolutely adamant that you cannot do that. She was insistent that I was diabetic for life. I asked the Diabetic Specialist at a Carb Awareness Day and she agreed that I would always be a diabetic but I could be "in remission" as the cells that are damaged to cause the insulin resistant will always have that problem and will still do so as they replicate with the same problems when old ones die off. I was quite disappointed because I had read about Diabetes Reversal in the press and assumed it was possible. Of course, whatever you call it, if you are minimising the effects and not damaging your body more, it has got to be a good thing.

Iam64 Sat 28-Oct-17 18:58:31

Oh that's scary Nelliemaggs. I don't think so but next time I see the GP I plan to discuss that. I'm on a couple of new meds that mean my regular blood tests need to include more 'stuff' so I'll check.

Nelliemaggs Sat 28-Oct-17 15:25:19

Congratulations Tanith. You must be very pleased.

Iam64, are you sure you couldn’t have late onset autoimmune type 1 diabetes? I was told for 9 months that I had borderline type 2 and to adjust my diet even though I am not at all overweight and not a big sweet thing eater. By the time I was properly diagnosed I was feeling wretched. The GP kept saying it was ‘too rare’ to develop type 1 in my seventies but I knew she was wrong. Not usual but hardly rare.

HootyMcOwlface Sat 28-Oct-17 15:19:38

Didn't the Dr on TV reverse his diabetes with the 5:2 diet?

Mauriherb Sat 28-Oct-17 14:15:59

Well done everyone x that's a great achievement. I don't have diabetes but need to lose weight and reading your stories has made me think that I really must do something about before it becomes a necessity (prevention being better than cure etc)
Well done again

tanith Sat 28-Oct-17 13:55:25

I only use stevia Demerara sugar on porridge that's about it

rama Sat 28-Oct-17 13:45:46

wow!reading about such determined ladies has inspired me have been diabetic for 6 yrs on oral meds did think hoping for reversion was futile
thank you ladies